New to forum, but have been happily reading for years. Question: are there no eu category "A" (ocean/blue water crossing capable) sailboats under 36' being produced in the us or abroad? Thank you in advance.

Andrew B. - I asked an honest question, and was asking the forum readers for assistance. If you know about the boat manufacturers in question, why would you not point me toward them? If you did not plan on assisting me, then why bother to respond at all? You are certainly not typical of the helpful people that are the norm on cruisersforum.com.

You did not ask for examples. You only ask if there were. "...Question: are there no eu category "A" (ocean/blue water crossing capable) sailboats under 36' being produced in the us or abroad? ..." Don't fault me for your non-specific question. I answered your question, and more. The only answer really required of your question was 'yes there are'. If you wanted examples you should have ask for examples.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cah

Andrew B. - I asked an honest question, and was asking the forum readers for assistance. If you know about the boat manufacturers in question, why would you not point me toward them? If you did not plan on assisting me, then why bother to respond at all? You are certainly not typical of the helpful people that are the norm on cruisersforum.com.

Only in the US would anything under 50 ft be considered a day boat! The Europeans have been sailing tender sized boats across oceans since the invention of wind. The move towards floating villas is relatively new and has more to do with the charter market than sailing. Robin Knox-Johnson won the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race in 1969 in a 32 footer called Suhaili. He became the first man to circumnavigate non stop, single handed. For me the true measure of this young man wasn't the feat of endurance but that he subsequently donated his winnings to the widow of fellow competitor Donald Crowhurst who failed to make it home. Blue water sailing is mostly about preparation and planning. If you want to find a true ocean going boat in the smaller range look at the 1970's era. Look for Van der Stadt, Bruce Roberts, Nicholson, Westerly etc . All of these have stood the test of time.
There are different schools of thought on boat size, for me it has been important that it shouldn't break the bank. When it becomes expensive it dulls the pleasure of ownership, so just big enough for the job works for me. I chose a Targa 96, 32 ft, centre cockpit, world cruiser for a family of four. She is currently in Boston, I plan to sail her home to Norway next spring.

I read somewhere that 25 years ago the average world cruiser was in the low 30' range. Now it's in the low 40' range. Did the 30'ers suddently become less seaworthy?

My question would be what is the purpose of asking for a Cat A boat? From what I've seen, I wouldn't count on it proving the vessel is a good offshore boat. They are meeting a govt regulation that may or may not produce a good offshore boat.

I read somewhere that 25 years ago the average world cruiser was in the low 30' range. Now it's in the low 40' range. Did the 30'ers suddently become less seaworthy?

My question would be what is the purpose of asking for a Cat A boat? From what I've seen, I wouldn't count on it proving the vessel is a good offshore boat. They are meeting a govt regulation that may or may not produce a good offshore boat.

I think affluent Baby Boomers going cruising drove up the average LOA, and cost, of cruising boats...it is not uncommon now to see 45' cats as cruising boats. This would also shift the type of boat builders produce.... I expect the market demand for smaller Cat As is very low and thus builders don't build many.

Plenty of older very sea worthy designs out there which are not Cat A rated...many which I expect pre-dated the rating but dont know when it was created.

My question would be what is the purpose of asking for a Cat A boat? From what I've seen, I wouldn't count on it proving the vessel is a good offshore boat. They are meeting a govt regulation that may or may not produce a good offshore boat.

I frequently am amazed at the number of people over the years who will post that the CE standard is worthless, and then quote some other standard almost as a law.

It is like being anti government, then complaining that the roads have pot holes.

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jobless, houseless, clueless, living on a boat and cruising around somewhere

I frequently am amazed at the number of people over the years who will post that the CE standard is worthless, and then quote some other standard almost as a law.

It is like being anti government, then complaining that the roads have pot holes.

Never said it was "worthless" but in my research there are aspects that are good and others that are beaurocatic garbage. (For example: I believe there are requirements for wiring based around 240v power. Of course no American boat will meet those because it's designed for 120v power. It makes no difference in it's ability to cross oceans but by the letter of the law, it fails.)

The point of my comment was:
- Are you trying to bring a foriegn made boat home to the EU and therefore must meet CE requriements for insurance?
- Do you think it will provide better resale value?
- Do you think if it has the CE rating, it's the perfect boat to round cape horn in a full gale?

Never said it was "worthless" but in my research there are aspects that are good and others that are beaurocatic garbage. (For example: I believe there are requirements for wiring based around 240v power. Of course no American boat will meet those because it's designed for 120v power. It makes no difference in it's ability to cross oceans but by the letter of the law, it fails.)

As an ex-North Americano I can offer a few shortcuts to make dealing with all those messy foreign standards easier:

1. No one uses 120V power anywhere outside of North America unless they're losers. Only 240V is capable of properly firing up a Bass-O-Matic for those important sundowners. Even better if you can produce 3 phase power.

2. Imperial is for wimps. Real men use metric - 150mm is more impressive than 6" when stamped on the side of a condom.

3. The French can sail around the world non-stop without sleeping or shaving. Kiwi's are always faster than anyone else. Brits are fun to hang out with despite their penchant for warm beer. Italians make boat stuff that just looks damned good.

CE is full of bureaucratic garbage? Point me towards any government or "recognized official body" standard which is a clear expression of logical thought devoid of idiosyncrasies. It doesn't exist anywhere.